A Message from the Estates of Harry Somers and Mavor Moore: Replacing the “Kuyas” Aria in Louis Riel

By COC Staff

In 1967, Mavor Moore and Harry Somers had been commissioned by the Canadian Opera Company to write an opera for Canada’s Centennial. They chose Louis Riel as a subject, and created a piece that has been consistently hailed as a work of international stature.

Redressing Riel: COC and NAC Commission New Music for Louis Riel

By COC Staff

The Canadian Opera Company is proud to partner with the National Arts Centre in co-commissioning new work to replace the music from the Kuyas aria that opens the third act of Louis Riel by composer Harry Somers and librettist Mavor Moore. Composer Ian Cusson, of Métis and French-Canadian descent, has been commissioned to create this new work for the opera, last performed at both the COC and NAC in 2017.

Honouring Indigeneity in Louis Riel

By COC Staff

By Gianmarco Segato, Adult Programs Manager

It was just one year ago that Louis Riel’s portrait was finally hung alongside those of Manitoba’s other premiers in the halls of Winnipeg’s Legislative Buildings. Although never premier, as President of the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia he helped pave the way for Manitoba to enter Confederation—ironic given his subsequent execution for treason by the same Ottawa government determined to unite Canada at any cost. Manitoba’s small but significant acknowledgement of Riel’s key role was long overdue, but is the type of historical realignment that also informs director Peter Hinton’s new COC production of Louis Riel.